Ramblings from Oz

Thursday, May 27, 2010

It tells me that the fucking Evil Party will try this, as soon as they think they have a real chance at getting it put to a passing vote, as the NuLabour fucks did.

It matters not that the power shift in Britain's Parliament has seen fit to do away with a costly and absurd system that was all about hefting power and never about such undefinable issues as "safety." All that matters for the Fucking Idiot Leftists is getting their filthy, grubbing hands on two things, which are actually inter-related: Your money (or your value of production), and power.

Possibly the most important thing to remember, however, is this; The Brits have admitted, with these actions, that the system can be disassembled, and is not some Holy Fucking Relic, as some in Congress would have you believe the law can be. Anything that can be done can be undone by that same body, so remember that things like ObamaCare can be torn down.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

"I had to learn the hard way and deplete my savings doing it," said Mia Parry, a manager at a mortgage brokerage in Scottsdale, Ariz., who has spent nearly two years seeking a loan modification. She now wishes she had put her home on the market," (emphasis - Ed.)

If a manager at a mortgage brokerage can't figure this kind of shit out...

I just love watching this guy do his best dunce, stick-my-foot-in-my-mouth routine.

He reminds me so much of Joe Biden when he does this, except he's more comical.

I mean, how many folks can you put off with only one paragraph?,

"And meanwhile, you're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment thatbombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter. And with iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it's putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy."

It's really just a case of who sucks worse...at this very moment, and the opportunity to make a quick buck by those who can afford to throw the amounts of cash at it to get a return.

All of this fresh bravado will either fade, or more probable, crash.

Just the same as Greece, Portugal and whomever else is busy scrambling to cut costs and rein in the fat from gummint pensions and "services," which is just code for theft and graft, it's all coming 'round to here, eventually.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

because he's too stupid to know why his "strategy," or whatever you'd care to call it, isn't going to work at even getting a glimpse of a tree.

Jeezis, a fucking lawyer should be able to think rationally, but...there you are, right out in the open for all to see. Disclosure or not, corruption was in that system. No way around it. It's part of that whole system, the graft. It's what makes it what it is, fer christsakes!

This is nothing more than a smoke screen that will in no way have any positive effects on turning the badly atrophied California pension funds to a positive mark in anyone's ledger. This isn't about that. It's about making yet another Hollywood spectacle of blame, greed and finger-pointing out of the whole ordeal, in a misguided attempt at making it look like the A.G. is "doing something."

Brown will want a pat on the back when this all over, and the strange part is, he'll get it, and from more than just his own hand too. It's a grand political overture, and nothing more.

Knowing of what they speak

On Socks.

"There is one item of G.I. gear that can be the difference between a live grunt and a dead grunt.

Socks.

Cushion sole, O.D. green. Try to keep your feet dry when we're out there humpin'. I want you boys to remember to change your socks whenever we stop. The Mekong will eat a grunt's feet right off his legs." - Lt. Dan Taylor, from Forrest Gump

Being a former competitive runner, I know a few things about taking care of my feet. Slogging 60 or 70 miles a week at six minutes or better per mile will make you do that, you simply have no choice.

I'd been wearing some course wool socks with a separate liner for at least 3 or 4 years whilst at college, since they were the only system I'd found that truly helped stave off the cold while walking Mount Oread, and the fucking wind up there is just horrendous. The current pick had its problems, as they shrunk at a crossed-eye glance, were itchy as a pox with no liners, and those liners were yet another pair that must be procured and washed, sorted and kept track of.

I was never truly pleased with them.

Then I ran across some socks I'd never seen before. I picked them off the display center and gave them a look. Merino wool. "Does not itch," or something similar was printed on the package. I thought, "Who are they kidding?" then I noticed how soft they were. Hmmm. Looked at the price and they seemed expensive too, at something like fifteen bucks, but I had cash on me from the generosity of grandparents, post holidays, and the quality seemed more than good. So I bought a pair.

I would eventually find that they made many different kinds for different applications, and I tried those too. I've never thought any of them as too expensive after that first pair, which I think lasted for at least five years of weekly wearing and washing.

Seriously, I know I have at least thirty pair of SmartWool™ brand socks in my dresser, of all types, from mountaineering to lifestyle to running. That good.

A couple of years ago, I found another brand that looked promising, of similar construction, touting high wear and warmth (and a rather overt admission of how fucking GREEN they are, too, if that makes a shit difference for you) right on the package, and gave them a shot, despite my reservations about the tree-hugging, sanctimonious horseshit advertisements.

They are, without question, extraordinary.

When I wear out a few more pair of my light hiker-type socks, the Icebreaker™ brand will be given some consideration on replacements.

Oh, and pay attention to what David Codrea says in his praxis piece at WoG, and, "cram a couple pair of socks in with your gear," even if it's just part of your every day carry bag in your car. Extra, quality, dry socks will keep your feet going, so that you can keep going, in the event that you have to get somewhere on foot, in extremis.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

The message to me is clear; Even if you are of Mexican descent, it's somehow unpatriotic to show that you are an American on Cinco de Mayo, even on American soil.

It's amazing to watch the horseshit going on at the school, too, with the A.P. doing his schtick to, "keep the peace," by sending the "offending" parties home. They were afraid this type of openly displayed Americanism would "result in a fight."

Just one question; Other than yesterday being the celebration of Mexican Independence Day, why would it make any difference that these boys, some of whom were at least partially of Mexican descent, wore the colors of Old Glory? Doesn't that flag infuriate the La Raza crowd, no matter what day it is?

Who are the racists, here?

Nice to see the School Board taking a stand on the whole bit, but, it seems that nothing will come of this but a few apologies and little more. Look for more of same to happen elsewhere in the future.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

I was curious about some of what was being said over at that link at Tam's.

Not so much about the semantics of the word incredible, but about what might constitute such actions, but in other ways.

For instance; what might the numbers be for those who've ever made actual, intended hits at those distances with similar means and methods as those mentioned, at, say, beyond a mile, and comparing that to running the same distance in under 4 minutes.

Now, I personally have some perspective on this physical challenge, as I was a competitive middle distance runner in my youth, having gotten pretty close to the magic threshold that was considered an impossible athletic feat at one point. Specifically, I was curious as to the total number of men (there has yet to be a woman do it, though I'm sure this will eventually be eclipsed) who've done it, and how many times it's been done. I ran across an older link from the New York Times, of all places, from 2003 that had tabulated the number, at the time, to just under 1,000 men performing the feat just over 4,700 times. Ever.

That was a half-dozen years ago, and I can't imagine that the numbers have skewed radically north of that. That means that each man to have done it has done so, on average, about 5 times during his career. That's pretty spare when you think about it, and even more so when considering that typical elite-level meets are where the bulk of those times actually get run, and that they are run by those same athletes at the elite meets far more often than, say, at the collegiate level.

Pretty elite company to be in, a fraternity of barely more than a thousand.

So, have there ever been 1,000 servicemen (or...other professionals of the dubious kind) pull off the feat of taking a mark at 1 1/2 miles, and do it twice in a row?

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

A) The bomb-laden SUV did not explode and no one was hurt. (thankfully)

B) The suspect was seen by almost no one after the plant, and only some amateurish video of him leaving the scene was procured afterward. (I'm not harping about turning the US into a surveillance society, e.g. Britain)

C) Suspect was out amongst the general citizenry for what, 3 days until he was apprehended?

D) He was already ON an outbound plane to Dubai, taxiing on the effin' runway when the plane was ordered to return to the gate with the Fibbies ready to board and arrest the would-be terrorist.

And last, but not least;

E) The West-hating sumbitch was in the country in the first place to put his plan into motion.